The best thing I can say to sum up this film, available on DVD to rent or buy from Monday. Is that it was Directed by Richard ‘Donnie Darko’ Kelly. Perhaps if you live the fast-paced, jet-set, Blackberry lifestyle of an International football player, Hollywood movie star, or archaeology professor by day, male version of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider by night, or if you’re Paris Hilton, one sentence is too much for you to take in. In which case I’ll just say, it’s bloody weird.

The premise itself: A small wooden box with a button arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who know that pressing the button will grant them a million dollars and kill someone they don’t know.’ Simple enough. But with enough hidden questions to make the Mona Lisa’s head spin.

The first, and most obvious question anyone would ask themselves. How much is a human life worth? But is this the real question? Is it not, how much is the guilt of sacrifice worth? Or how easy is it for greed to take control? Or even, what constitutes greed? Would it still be greedy if the prize weren’t money, but your own life? All valid questions, and all possible for the film to explore once the set-up had been made. When faced with this in some ways horrible, in others intriguing, but definitely interesting situation, Norma Lewis - Cameron Diaz (Vanilla Sky, There’s Something About Mary) and Arthur Lewis – James Marsden (X-Men, Superman Returns) however, kind of miss the point.

They spend a good two thirds of the film (stopping it from ever really getting going) umming and awwing over whether they should press the button. Fair enough take your time discussing it. It’s a million dollars! Someone will die sure, but you won’t know them, people die all the time. You probably won’t even hear about it on the news or anything. And if you do, it might just be one of the many normal deaths that you haven’t caused. And you certainly need the money. But can you really live with yourself afterwards? The guilt? The wonder? And what if it comes back to you? What if someone finds out? What if you find out who it was? Lots of chance there, plenty to talk about.

Sadly (for me), Norma and Arthur don’t quite see in the situation the same (what I consider to be) interesting discussion about ethics and morality. Instead, they can’t seem to get past how the system works. ‘If we press it, someone will die instantly? But how will he know? It’s not even plugged in.’ Is this really the most important part of the deal? Arthur even takes to dismantling box in an attempt to understand how the cause and effect relate to each other. When he sees that it’s just a wooden box. No wires, no transmitters, he thinks he’s solved it. “There’s no transmitter!” He says... “He won’t even know if we press it!” Why bother? If he doesn’t know, then no one will die, but you won’t get any money anyway, but if it is real then someone will die. So why not just assume it is real, that it will kill someone, and you will get paid, and get on with it!

As gripes go, it might be one of smaller ones. But it makes a big difference as I shall explain. They spend the first 50 minutes going back and forth about whether the box is real, and if it will work or not. As if, if it’s not they might just as well press it ‘for a laugh’. After receiving the thing, they have 24 hours to make a decision. So finally, it must be made. And from then on, the thing gets a little bit interesting and very very weird.

I’m not the kind of annoying person who will watch a film and constantly shout out what I think will happen, who the killer is, or how they got away with it (I’m a different kind of annoying person), but the actual outcome, of what ‘the box’ was, where it came from, who gave it to them, and what the fuck has been going on, is one so boringly typical, by the end you feel like mourning.

It’s not a complete waste. You won’t consider writing in to Mr. Kelly demanding either a full refund either of money or time. You might however, consider mourning the premise. It’s a good start, plenty to sink your teeth into, but Kelly (who also penned the script) seems to have been too intent on keeping his dentures a gleaming shade of white.